As more vehicles travel the roads, and as those roads are expanded, the traffic patterns that vehicles create are increasingly complicated and far-flung. Traffic congestion may hinder drivers, for example by prolonging travel time, by increasing the likelihood of collisions, or by forcing drivers onto unfamiliar or undesirable travel routes. Therefore, information about traffic patterns, if collected and relayed to drivers in a timely manner, may allow drivers to adjust their travel plans to increase safety and convenience. Additionally, traffic monitoring may aid emergency responders by identifying both locations of collisions and routes by which emergency vehicles may travel to a collision.
Vehicles may be connected to wireless communications networks, and vehicles may be equipped with wireless transceivers configured to send and receive wireless signals. In a typical wireless network, a radio access network (“RAN”) facilitates client devices, such as vehicles, communicating over the air interface. A RAN may be communicatively coupled to other types of networks, such as the Internet, and may include, among other components, base transceiver stations (“BTSs”), servers, and gateways, including switches. A BTS may comprise a cell tower with one or more antennas that radiate to define a cell and cell sectors. A BTS may serve client devices within the geographic coverage area corresponding to its cell, such that client devices within that area receive signals from and transmit signals to the BTS.
A server may receive signals from and transmit signals to a BTS. The server may also receive signals from and transmit signals to other network entities, possibly through network gateways, and a server may generate signals requesting or relaying information. Further, the server may process information contained in the signals it receives and may be equipped with memory, logic, and processing power sufficient for such information processing.